E-8C Joint Stars

FILE PHOTO -- The E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System is a joint Air Force - Army program. The Joint STARS uses a multi-mode side looking radar to detect, track, and classify moving ground vehicles in all conditions deep behind enemy lines. The aircraft is the only airborne platform in operation that can maintain realtime surveillance over a corps-sized area of the battlefield. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Shane Cuomo)

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- An E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System from the 93rd Air Control Wing flies a refueling mission over the skies of Georgia. The Department of Defense will soon deploy Joint STARS and Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle surveillance systems over the Afghan theater of operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The E-8C is an airborne battle management and command and control platform that conducts ground surveillance to develop an understanding of the enemy situation and to support attack operations and targeting that contributes to the delay, disruption and destruction of enemy forces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John Lasky)

Mission
The E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, or Joint STARS, is an airborne battle management, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform. Its primary mission is to provide theater ground and air commanders with ground surveillance to support attack operations and targeting that contributes to the delay, disruption and destruction of enemy forces.

Features
The E-8C is a modified Boeing 707-300 series commercial airframe extensively remanufactured and modified with the radar, communications, operations and control subsystems required to perform its operational mission. The most prominent external feature is the 27-foot (8 meters) long, canoe-shaped radome under the forward fuselage that houses the 24-foot (7.3 meters) long, side-looking phased array antenna.

The radar and computer subsystems on the E-8C can gather and display detailed battlefield information on ground forces. The information is relayed in near-real time to the Army and Marine Corps common ground stations and to other ground command, control, communications, computers and intelligence, or C4I, nodes.

The antenna can be tilted to either side of the aircraft where it can develop a 120-degree field of view covering nearly 19,305 square miles (50,000 square kilometers) and is capable of detecting targets at more than 250 kilometers (more than 820,000 feet). The radar also has some limited capability to detect helicopters, rotating antennas and low, slow-moving fixed wing aircraft.

As a battle management and command and control asset, the E-8C can support the full spectrum of roles and missions from peacekeeping operations to major theater war.

Background
Joint STARS evolved from Army and Air Force programs to develop, detect, locate and attack enemy armor at ranges beyond the forward area of troops. The first two developmental aircraft deployed in 1991 to Operation Desert Storm and also supported Operation Joint Endeavor in December 1995.

Team Joint STARS men and women have contributed tremendously to overseas contingency operations, flying more than 85,000 combat hours in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn Odyssey Dawn, and Unified Protector. Their operational resume includes support of six Combatant Commands including U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Europe Command.

Team JSTARS was the first organization in the U.S Air Force to activate under the Air Force's Total Force Initiative as a "blended" wing. America's first "Total Force" wing, the former 93rd Air Control Wing, an active-duty Air Combat Command unit, and the 116th Bomb Wing, a Georgia Air National Guard unit, were deactivated Oct.1, 2002. The 116th Air Control Wing was activated blending Guard and active-duty Airmen into a single unit. In October 2011, the Active Associate construct was formed by the newly activated 461st Air Control Wing as a member of Team JSTARS.

Team JSTARS through the 116th ACW is the only unit that operates the E-8C and the Joint STARS mission.